Backflip on hospital amalgamations

IN July 2023, the Victorian Department of Health commissioned an Expert Advisory Committee to examine the design and governance of Victoria’s health services system. Over 10 months, they explored many of the challenges experienced by patients, communities and our health workforce within the system.

The committee have now developed the Health Services Plan which provides a number of recommendations for a more connected system that delivers the right care, at the right time, in the right place, for all Victorians.

The plan is outlined through three key pillars of reform: Establishing Local Health Service Networks (LHSN), geographic groupings responsible for planning and managing care so that it meets the population health needs of their communities; Formalised relationships between each network and a women’s, a children’s and a major tertiary hospital, ensuring every Victorian has seamless access to specialist care and expertise when they need it; and a Victorian Role Delineation Framework, which will support collaboration across the system through setting out the roles and responsibilities of every health service site, aligned to their size and capability.

The government will accept 21 recommendations in full and accept in principle five recommendations.

Recommendation 4.6: Likely amendments to groupings and boundaries based on further consultation with the sector.

The government will provide guidance to health service boards on principles to underpin Local Health Service Network groupings. Health services will then be able to propose groupings for their region for approval by government.

Recommendation 6.1: The department will undertake further work to consider this while ensuring no reduction in service provision.

Recommendation 7.2: Hospitals will not be forced to consolidate to form LHSNs.

Recommendation 8.1: The department will continue to support those health services that wish to consolidate. The government does not accept the recommendation on forced consolidation of health services.

Recommendation 9.2: Further work is needed to understand the impact of these reforms across healthcare the Commonwealth is responsible for.

The government does not accept recommendation 7.1 relating to directed…

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